The problem with ‘one-person’ blogs and websites is that if the publisher is unable to fulfil his tasks then these sites are simply not updated.

I have always tried to give my readers premium service (daily updates, plus Inteltrends’ “Newsmarks” column, my Wisconsin blog and other features) but regrettably I have come down with both the flu and a lower back injury at the same time. The flu is manageable, but the back injury makes it difficult to sit in front of the computer. If you have ever had this type of injury then I’m sure you understand.

Anyway, I “hope” to have this site fully operational again by March 6. In the interim only the Daily Quran Verse and the Ruhnama Weekly Quote will continue to be updated.

Inteltrends’ news, commentaries and analysis’ MAY BE updated sporadically before March 6, so please feel free to visit earlier.

* “Outlaw Governors” Take On America* “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.” — Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

In Wisconsin, State Police cars are searching for missing legislators. The fist pounding on the door in the middle of the night, reminders of Germany, 1936.

A state governor is tape recorded taking orders from an Israeli billionaire. Children in state after state are being packed like cordwood into crowded classrooms as schools close. Not just teachers but police and firemen also, await pay cuts, elimination of health insurance and even firing as state governments seem to be declaring war on their own people.

Government services across the Midwest are slated to virtually disappear. Government protections, fire, safety, air, water, workplace and protection from frauds and financial abuses are on the chopping block. The very roots of civilization, even law and order are being sabotaged.

A region the size of France and Germany faces a bizarre hybridization, half fascism, half feudalism, open warfare, rich against poor, powerful preying on the weak.

Is there more to the political battle in the Midwest than just workers’ rights and closing schools and rationing health care? Have the new “extremist” state governors, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, gone too far, combining huge tax breaks to their friends while closing schools, firing teachers and gutting public services? What if the inflammatory measures taken by “reformist” Tea Party governors are, as many now believe, evidence that those who promised to “fix the system” are really tasked with a broader and more destructive agenda, that of bringing America to its knees?

Who would want America’s government weak and compliant, divided, perhaps even under foreign domination yet with her military intact, ready to lash out in response to phony intelligence, imaginary threats or a new 9/11 style false flag attack, one we hear predictions of daily?

Is there evidence that the Tea Party “reformers” are, as is so often the case nowadays, a solution “chosen to fail?”<br/

The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.”— Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Are those who gravitate toward cynicism and conspiracy simply “situationally aware” and no longer a paranoid fringe? Have things in Washington deteriorated so far that only a handful of elected officials aren’t being bribed, blackmailed or both? Are there that many?

The media has rushed to defend the Koch Brothers, tied to the Israeli lobby AIPAC with its spy scandals and heavy handed agenda of pushing for war on Iran, bagmen and conduits for the Zionist move against the Obama administration, now believed by Israel to be an unenthusiastic “partner.”

Obama may “veto” on demand to save Israel from U.N. sanctions for human rights violations but has not met expectations on Iran. It will take a shipload of cluster bombs to do that, perhaps a bit more.

The “Koch boys” are tasked with closing that deal. America will be broken, this is what is believed. Thousands of Americans in the streets are saying a resounding “NO!”

As juicy a target as Iran may be, isolated, no air force, oil and gas wealth beyond imagination, America may well be easier to take down.

Defending the “Federal reserve franchise,” the gaggle of banks, many Rothschild controlled, that have repeatedly crushed America’s economy since 1913, the illegal and unconstitutional monstrosity that bleeds America dry, that is another task for Israel’s Tea Party commandos.

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan were never the real target of AIPAC with its media arms, the Murdoch/Fox empire and Wikileaks. Drowning America in debt and war is, while Israel drowns in another way, in American cash and defense contracts.

Wikileaks is a sinister part of that empire too. Wikileaks is regrouping, hoping the public will quickly forget their alliances with the media giants and their special “sensitivity” to the needs and desires of Israel’s covert intelligence organization, the Mossad. Julian Assange says “sensitivity.” We say “alliance.”

In today’s world of game theory warfare, where “psy-ops” are “politics as usual,” an American political scene that is increasingly global and increasingly brutal. The “spin doctors” of the 80’s and 90’s have given way to “covert operatives” and “disinformation specialists,” products of the “War on Terror” years who are as quick with a gun or bomb as their predecessors were with briefcases filled with cash.

For years, Americans had been distracted by “boogeyman” terror scares, now appearing more than a bit overly “coincidental.”

Giving The Fox The Henhouse Keys

America is broke, most people know that but don’t understand what it means. One day Americans will wake up and money will be worthless. When this happens — and it is “when” and not “if” — a nuclear apocalypse would be an afterthought.

This will be the morning you wake up and find why the Department of Homeland Security was created.

What most Americans also know is that America is broke because of bank fraud, interest payments on debt caused by huge deficits run up under the Bush administration and the bloated military budget. The two wars, that are still going on and on, paying for them and the interest on 15 trillion dollars in national debt accounts for 99% of the waste.

America didn’t get this far gone by accident. The greatest minds money could buy, insidious, evil, twisted, planned this every step of the way starting with Reagan’s “trickle down” economics.

Without a middle class and a viable industrial economy, America simply doesn’t exist. America is now a nation of extremes, the very rich and the “less than poor,” a former middle class buried in debt and a working class with no jobs, a nation heading for disintegration, a nation posed for even more tyranny, more control and less and less freedom.

Feudalism: Thank The Supreme Court

The last insult, defiling the corpse of America, the Supreme Court granted international corporations (with a U.S. registered agent) unlimited access to buy and sell elected officials. Drug money from Mexico and Afghanistan, profits from defective vaccines, price fixed oil, “bail out” money, has flooded into the political system of America ending the last hope for freedom and progress, over $200 million during the last midterm election alone, enough to swing 100 key races.

It is guaranteed, it is truly written, life in America will all be down hill from now on, phony terror attacks, endless wars, new laws, restrictions, new humiliations. Expect the ultimate tax, runaway prices for everything, food, gas, utilities, tuition, more to pay with money now totally impossible for the average American to get.

Today we are drowning in money. That will end. Ask anyone who lived during the “great depression.” Movies cost 5 cents.

Nobody had 5 cents.

The new ploy has a first step, divide and conquer. The tool used, the Tea Party governors, now proven to be employees of the Israeli-American Koch brothers, tasked with orchestrating “the crash.”

“First we break the unions…”

Twisted Patriotism

When America’s patriotic resistance, those wanting a new 9/11 investigation and an end to illegal wars, massive debt and draconian rule at home formed the Tea Party, they created the means of their own destruction. As soon as the network publicity machines, starting with Fox, went into gear and the money began to flow, It was all over.

Real funding was not small donations from “grass roots” believers but “Israeli firster” bucks, the billionaire Koch brothers tied to Israeli ultra-nationalist Likudists picking up the bill.

“Them who pays, names the tune to be danced to.”

The Tea Party agenda went from ending constitutional abuses of the Patriot Acts, investigating the 9/11 cover-up and ending massive federal deficits to “samo-samo” Neocon drivel, but with a twist.

Despite the Neocon appearance to the Tea Party, it is something entirely different. There is nothing remotely conservative about feudalism.

Remember, there can be no feudalism without serfs. Being a serf “sucks”… wait and see.

America, at her weakest since the “great depression” has been singled out for destruction, destabilization, “balkanization” and class warfare. America’s Midwest is the target zone, rolling back the clock in state after state, plunging what had been America’s industrial heartland into generations of poverty and decline. We have seen the bank failures. Will breadlines be next?

Are breadlines “socialism?”

No business will stay in, no business will move to a region with closed schools, no reliable police and fire departments, crumbling highways, a region pre-staged for social unrest, outbreaks of crime, a region pre-staged for class warfare. This is no accident, not hardly. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin are only a beginning.

Wisconsin, from the folks who brought us Gaza…

Who could hate America this much? Who profits from debt, from social unrest, from war, who makes money when Americans are sick, hungry, afraid and oppressed?

Our “Bestest Friend” In The Whole World

Has anyone noticed that the Tea Party didn’t just forget about its beginnings as a 9/11 Truth movement? Did anyone notice that the Tea Party, not the minor “Ron Paul wing” but the “Koch Brothers’ Tea Party,” the real “Tea Party” is totally silent on the following issues:

· The wars can go on forever despite the fact they are bleeding America dry and are morally despicable

Their theory is that of the spiral, entropy, debt, depression and discord. Decades of “dumbing down,” inferior schools, degenerate pop culture, propaganda and fear mongering are the tools.

The prize?

A population that hates, itself, each other, believes in nothing, trusts no one, fears everything, every group ready to enslave the other.

Orwellian.

Destroy public education and America is permanently derailed, relegated to third world status, a “Soviet Union” for the 21st century, dumb as hell and armed to the teeth.

The political answer being sold to Americans is one most are very familiar with. The “hate” list is getting out of hand. Topping the list is the old standby, African Americans, the underpinnings of American politics for 150 years. Every discussion of government spending, not counting the 80% stolen by banksters and the military industrial complex, is a “nod and wink” about “them.”

The race hatred from America’s shameful era of slavery is alive and well. The unbridled hatred spewed at President Obama originates from geography every American knows very well. “Red States” are where they hate “black people.” (and Jews)

Sadder still, the greatest social advancement “some” people of color have achieved in recent decades has been brought about by the refocused hated since 9/11, “Islamophobia.” It is though America, as a nation, existed as a macrocosm of an elementary school playground.

Should African Americans feel relief because the media is now relentlessly focused on bashing Muslims, gays and Hispanics?

Now we have added trade unions to the list, another danger to public order, or so we are told by those who want to return to the past:

· Millions of laborers in America lived in actual slavery. Coal miners made $5 a week, lived in hovels rented from mine owners, shopped at the “company store.”

· Milk in the United States was made with chalk. Crackers used axle grease for shortening. Bread was made from sawdust.

We forget how fragile our nation is. Americans live as though things were always as they are. But then, how are they? Between 20 and 30 million homes are vacant, each housed an American family, over 80 million Americans cast adrift.

Where are they now?

Between 2 and 3 million Americans are in prison with another 7 million on parole or probation.

The Soviet gulags were never so full.

No one is asking why.

Over a million Americans serve in the armed forces, some with more deployed time than any military force in our history. Most would leave the service if they didn’t face starvation.

Veterans from Vietnam, Gulf War I (Operation Desert Storm) and Gulf War II share the endless wait for veterans disability processing, some for illnesses and injuries over 40 years old. 3 generations wait, poisoned, vaccinated and irradiated to death.

They were last month’s target, before the move against the trade unions.

They will be targeted again. They are weak, they are vulnerable. They are expendable.

Will the children be next? Of course they will.

[End.]__________

Gordon Duff is a U.S. Marine Vietnam veteran and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic officer of U.N. humanitarian groups. He is a widely published expert on military and defense issues.

When CIA-agent Raymond Davis gunned down two Pakistani civilians in broad daylight on a crowded street in Lahore, he probably never imagined that the entire Washington establishment would spring to his defense. But that’s precisely what happened. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mike Mullen, John Kerry, Leon Panetta and a number of other U.S. bigwigs have all made appeals on Davis’s behalf. None of these stalwart defenders of “the rule of law” have shown a speck of interest in justice for the victims or of even allowing the investigation to go forward so they could know what really happened. Oh, no. What Clinton and the rest want, is to see their man Davis packed onto the next plane to Langley so he can play shoot-’em-up someplace else in the world.

Does Clinton know that after Davis shot his victims 5 times in the back, he calmly strode back to his car, grabbed his camera, and photographed the dead bodies? Does she know that the two so-called “diplomats” who came to his rescue in a Land Rover (which killed a passerby) have been secretly spirited out of the country so they won’t have to appear in court? Does she know that the families of the victims are now being threatened and attacked to keep them from testifying against Davis? Here’s a clip from Thursday’s edition of The Nation:

Three armed men forcibly gave poisonous pills to Muhammad Sarwar, the uncle of Shumaila Kanwal, the widow of Fahim shot dead by Raymond Davis, after barging into his house in Rasool Nagar, Chak Jhumra.

Sarwar was rushed to Allied Hospital in critical condition where doctors were trying to save his life till early Thursday morning. The brother of Muhammad Sarwar told The Nation that three armed men forced their entry into the house after breaking the windowpane of one of the rooms. When they broke the glass, Muhammad Sarwar came out. The outlaws started beating him up.

The other family members, including women and children, coming out for his rescue, were taken hostage and beaten up. The three outlaws then took everyone hostage at gunpoint and forced poisonous pills down Sarwar’s throat.” (“Shumaila’s uncle forced to take poisonous pills”, The Nation)

Good show, Hillary. We’re all about the rule of law in the good old USA.

But why all the intrigue and arm-twisting? Why has the State Department invoked the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to make its case that Davis is entitled to diplomatic immunity? If Davis is innocent, then he has nothing to worry about, right? Why not let the trial go forward and stop reinforcing the widely-held belief that Davis is a vital cog in the U.S.’s clandestine operations in Pakistan?

The truth is that Davis had been photographing sensitive installations and madrassas for some time, the kind of intelligence gathering that spies do when scouting-out prospective targets. Also, he’d been in close contact with members of terrorist organizations, which suggests a link between the CIA and terrorist incidents in Pakistan. Here’s an excerpt from Wednesday’s The Express Tribune:

His cell phone has revealed contacts with two ancillaries of al Qaeda in Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan (TTP) and sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has led to the public conclusion that he was behind terrorism committed against Pakistan’s security personnel and its people… This will strike people as America in cahoots with the Taliban and al Qaeda against the state of Pakistan targeting, as one official opined, Pakistan’s nuclear installations.” (“Raymond Davis: The plot thickens”, The Express Tribune)

“Al Qaeda”? The CIA is working with “ancillaries of al Qaeda in Pakistan”? No wonder the U.S. media has been keeping a wrap on this story for so long.

Naturally, most Pakistanis now believe that the U.S. is colluding with terrorists to spread instability, weaken the state, and increase its power in the region. But isn’t that America’s M.O. everywhere?

Also, many people noticed that U.S. drone attacks suddenly stopped as soon as Davis was arrested. Was that a coincidence? Not likely. Davis was probably getting coordinates from his new buddies in the tribal hinterland and then passing them along to the Pentagon. The drone bombings are extremely unpopular in Pakistan. More then 1400 people have been killed since August 2008, and most of them have been civilians.

And, there’s more. This is from (Pakistan’s) The Nation:

A local lawyer has moved a petition in the court of Additional District and Sessions… contending that the accused (Davis)… was preparing a map of sensitive places in Pakistan through the GPS system installed in his car. He added that mobile phone sims, lethal weapons, and videos camera were recovered from the murder accused on January 27, 2011.” (“Davis mapped Pakistan targets court told”, The Nation)

So, Davis’s GPS chip was being used to identify targets for drone attacks in the tribal region. Most likely, he was being assisted on the other end by recruits or members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban.

A lot of extravagant claims have been made about what Davis was up to, much of which is probably just speculation. One report which appeared on ANI news service is particularly dire, but produces little evidence to support its claims. Here’s an excerpt:

Double murder-accused U.S. official Raymond Davis has been found in possession of top-secret CIA documents, which point to him or the feared American Task Force 373 (TF373) operating in the region, providing Al-Qaeda terrorists with “nuclear fissile material” and “biological agents,” according to a report.

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is warning that the situation on the sub-continent has turned “grave” as it appears that open warfare is about to break out between Pakistan and the United States, The European Union Times reports… The most ominous point in this SVR report is “Pakistan’s ISI stating that top-secret CIA documents found in Davis’s possession point to his, and/or TF373, providing to al Qaeda terrorists “nuclear fissile material” and “biological agents”, which they claim are to be used against the United States itself in order to ignite an all-out war in order to re-establish the West’s hegemony over a Global economy that is warned is just months away from collapse,” the paper added. (“CIA Spy Davis was giving nuclear bomb material to Al Qaeda, says report”, ANI)

Although there’s no way to prove that this is false, it seems like a bit of a stretch. But that doesn’t mean that what Davis was up to shouldn’t be taken seriously. Quite the contrary. If Davis was working with Tehreek-e-Taliban, (as alleged in many reports) then we can assume that the war on terror is basically a ruse to advance a broader imperial agenda. According to Sify News, the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, believes this to be the case. Here’s an excerpt:

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, once brushed off Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s claim, that the U.S. was “arranging” the (suicide) attacks by Pakistani Taliban inside his country, as ‘madness’, and was of the view that both Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who believed in this U.S. conspiracy theory, were “dysfunctional” leaders.

The account of Zardari’s claim about the U.S.’ hand in the attacks has been elaborately reproduced by U.S. journalist Bob Woodward, on Page 116 of his famous book ‘Obama’s Wars,’ The News reported.

Woodward’s account goes like this: “One evening during the trilateral summit (in Washington, between Obama, Karzai and Zardari) Zardari had dinner with Zalmay Khalilzad, the 58-year-old former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the U.N., during the Bush presidency.

“Zardari dropped his diplomatic guard. He suggested that one of the two countries was arranging the attacks by the Pakistani Taliban inside his country: India or the U.S. Zardari didn’t think India could be that clever, but the US could. Karzai had told him the U.S. was behind the attacks, confirming the claims made by the Pakistani ISI.”

“Mr President,” Khalilzad said, “what would we gain from doing this? You explain the logic to me.”

“This was a plot to destabilize Pakistan, Zardari hypothesized, so that the U.S. could invade and seize its nuclear weapons. He could not explain the rapid expansion in violence otherwise. And the CIA had not pursued the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, a group known as Tehreek-e-Taliban or TTP that had attacked the government. TTP was also blamed for the assassination of Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto.” (“Pakistan President says CIA Involved in Plot to Destabilize Country and Seize Nukes”, Sify News)

Zardari’s claim will sound familiar to those who followed events in Iraq. Many people are convinced that the only rational explanation for the wave of bombings directed at civilians, was that the violence was caused by those groups who stood to gain from a civil war.

And who might that be?

Despite the Obama administration’s efforts to derail the investigation, the case against Davis is going forward. Whether he is punished or not is irrelevant. This isn’t about Davis anyway. It’s a question of whether the U.S. is working hand-in-hand with the very organizations that it publicly condemns in order to advance its global agenda. If that’s the case, then the war on terror is a fraud.

[End.]__________

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com.

The text of the following interview is an official media release from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban). Reprinted with permission.

Interview with the spokesperson of Islamic Emirate Zabihullah Mujahid regarding Afghanistan’s current political and military situationSource: Islamic Emirate of AfghanistanFebruary 23, 2011 07:41

Question: Mr. Mujahid, after months of disputes, Hamid Karzai finally announced the so-called ‘peoples congregation’ (Jargah), could you please share with us your view regarding it?

Zabihullah Mujahid: Yes, in Afghanistan the foreign invaders and their puppets, like before, are trying to put into practice various processes in order to cover up the invasion of Afghanistan, and enforce their ‘prescription’ of so-called democracy. Once again they repeated their misleading efforts and conducted a parliamentary election. From the beginning the Islamic Emirate considered this particular election as ‘a demand and process set by foreigners’. The invaders covered the expenses of the election so that they can benefit from it.

Through this ‘show’ of election, the invaders wanted to deceive the Afghan Nation and the world that they have achieved their objectives, and [that] now there is a popular, elected government and parliament, hence no one has the right to continue their struggle against the elected government.

The foreigners believed that through such staged and corrupt elections they can easily put in place their purchased puppet individuals and appoint them in the fake parliament, through which they thought that they can continue their occupation and from such a parliament they will be able to easily get their hands on a long term strategic alliance contract.

In addition to this the invaders also had the intentions of appointing in the parliament those individuals who do not believe in a united Afghanistan. Through these puppets the foreign invaders will try on a high level to divide Afghanistan and cultivate mistrust amongst different ethnic groups.

From the beginning the Islamic Emirate had considered this process a struggle by foreign invaders and detrimental to the Afghan Nation and Muslims, and the results of this process reveals the same truth about the invaders’ deceptive upcoming plans and efforts.

Question: The United States of America, her allies and also the United Nations had a warm welcoming response towards the parliamentary elections, how do you view their particular response?

Zabihullah Mujahid: I made it clear that the parliament in Kabul and the elections that were held are not conducted in order to serve the legislative needs of the country; instead it was part of the invaders military strategy. As we know NATO is a military alliance, and it must be noticed that Rasmussen was compelling Hamid Karzai to bring about a new parliament, thus instead of government diplomats the ceremony of the new parliament was conducted by the military commanders of different countries, which shows that the new parliament was a strategic military need of the American invading forces that ought to be completed. In reality the Americans want to use this parliament in order to fulfill their military strategy in the region. As far as the United Nations’ warm welcoming of the new parliament is concerned, then it is apparent that the U.N. cannot take any step against America and that is a known fact.

Question: Do you think that the new parliament will have any effect on the current situation in Afghanistan?

Zabihullah Mujahid: No not at all, because this parliament like the earlier ones is neither an Afghani parliament nor legitimate, most of its members are elected on the basis of ethnicity by the invaders and their puppets, so like the earlier parliaments, it will only be limited to pocketing salaries and will not have any evident effect on the current circumstances.

Question: Can you describe briefly the view of the Islamic Emirate regarding this parliament?

Zabihullah Mujahid: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not give any importance to the existence or absence of such parliaments; most of its members are accountable for crimes and corruption which is part of this puppet regime. We see the so-called newly ‘elected’ parliament as a part of the continuous stage show, which the Americans want to benefit from by using it as propaganda in order to deceive the populace.

Question: Coming to other issues Mr.Mujahid, recently the American General Petraeus claimed that they have some evident progress in Afghanistan, how do you view these claims?

Zabihullah Mujahid: Yes, we hear this propaganda circulating in the media which is very astonishing. Our nation witnesses that the invaders are under more pressure than ever before. From one side, despite the increase in the number of invading forces they are under continuous attacks of Mujahideen all over the country which results in high casualties on a daily basis. From the other side, the invading forces – particularly their leaders and army generals – are under great political pressure of their country’s general public, that despite great expenses, enormous cost of life and public wealth, why have they not been able to fulfill their promises, which was to bring stability and a countable progress in Afghanistan. It is a known fact that the invaders have been defeated in Afghanistan, but they continue their propaganda through which they want to compel the world to believe in their so-called progress in Afghanistan. As far as General Petraeus’s claim is concerned, we have been following his claims from the past couple of months which in reality are politically motivated. For instance, when Obama was preparing scenario of his yearly speech for the Nation, according to a report General Petraeus was obliged to make new claims of progress in Afghanistan which had no authenticity. These claims were only made so that Barack Obama can refer to it and mention them as a proof in his speech. Therefore, in order to know the current situation in Afghanistan and the fantasy of progress in Afghanistan, we can refer to the many surveys that were recently conducted by some media sources, for instance the survey that was conducted by Reuters news agency at the expense of the European Union which exposes to some extent the fantasy of progress in Afghanistan.

According to a report by Reuters news agency, an European security firm which is responsible for the security of NGOs in Afghanistan has mentioned in their investigative report that the claims made by the American military Generals about the military progress in Afghanistan is contradictory to the reality on the ground. According to the report there is no doubt that in 2010 there was 2/3 increase in armed resistance compared to 2009, and in some northern provinces there is a threefold increase in armed resistance. Furthermore it is mentioned that the American president Barack Obama pointed towards the war in Afghanistan very differently, by saying that there was military progress on the ground and activities of Taliban have been limited in many parts of the country, whereas the progress that has been made is not secure enough and might fall back into the hands of Taliban. According to the report, the American general Mike Mullen’s visit to Afghanistan one day after the publicizing of the White House review of the Afghan war strategy where the General claimed about the progress in Afghanistan, however these claims had clear motives behind it, which was to influence the views and thoughts of the American and European public, and to prepare the situation in Afghanistan prior to the withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan. It is also mentioned in the report that in 2010 there was a 64 percent increase in the attacks by Taliban.

The above mentioned reports are according to a western media firm and I believe that if we make an even independent survey it will be more damaging to the invading forces.

Question: General Petraeus has been claiming for a couple of months that they have detained or martyred the majority of Mujahideen leaders in different parts of the country. Can you please give our readers some information about the reality of these incidents?

Zabihullah Mujahid: I can only say that our virtuous Jihad will indeed require sacrifice from us, and whether it be a leader or an ordinary Talib, sacrifice in this sacred path is our pride, and we believe that martyrdom for the sake of God Almighty is not death, but it is a life with dignity for us. However, as far as the enemy’s claim of martyring or capturing alive of a majority of our leaders, it is very far from reality, because we can see that day by day there is an increase in our Jihadi activities, and our armed forces are more disciplined than ever before. We are countering the enemy and opening new Jihadi fronts, we occupy more and more territory day by day. This in itself is a proof, praise be to Allah there is no such grave harm caused to our Jihadi leadership, and God forbid if these claims were to be true then we wouldn’t be having all these victories in the battlefields, and I believe that this is one-sided propaganda of our enemy, and right now there is totally an opposite situation on the ground. A general belief is that compared to the previous years, this winter there are more attacks of Mujahideen, which unveils the fake propaganda of our enemy.

Question: Recently Karzai’s government has been reported claiming that in some northern provinces a number of Mujahideen have surrendered to the government and the process is gaining momentum, can you please give us some information regarding it?

Zabihullah Mujahid: We believe that such claims are part of organized misleading propaganda. As a matter of fact even our enemy believes that the Jihad and resistance is gaining momentum in the north. So in order to reduce the resistance in the north, the Kabul government with the help and guidance of foreign intelligence agencies are trying to introduce some warlords as Taliban who in fact have no connection with the Taliban, then through their propaganda they claim that the government have invited the so-called Taliban and they have surrendered and are working with us now. We have always condemned such baseless reports, and we believe that these individuals are not Mujahideen but in fact they are planning against the Mujahideen. The puppet government in Kabul is trying to magnetize [polarize] the audacious Mujahideen of the north by means of money and governmental positions, but our enemy must comprehend that we have abandoned the short lived pleasures of this life for the sake of Allah and our Islam is more beloved to us than their money. Hence this propaganda is part of a planned intelligence process and praise be to Allah, Mujahideen are fully aware of it and God willing our Mujahideen will not fall prey to such indecent attempts of our enemy.

Question: Recently in many different parts of Afghanistan the American forces are conducting unexpected raids during night and may be day time, and they consider these raids very effective. Are these tactics really that much effective?

Zabihullah Mujahid: Our Mujahideen are totally capable and are very experienced in prevention of any such raids, and they have been trained well enough to counter these tactics of our enemy, and also in numerous occasions the enemy had a number of casualties during the raid. However as far as the night raids are concerned, they are mostly conducted on ordinary populace on the basis of wrong information, and also sometimes these raids are conducted on religious schools and many students and Imams have been martyred and imprisoned. These brutal acts of the invaders will further add to the fury of our nation, so eventually more and more people will stand in the ranks of Mujahideen. Similarly the Soviets made the same mistake of agonizing our nation, which resulted in their defeat. Furthermore our nation see’s these acts of the invaders as anti-Islamic and against the humanity, the invaders bomb our mosques, kill the religious imams and students or imprison and torture the innocent people without any trial, therefore our nation will continue to fulfill their responsibility of protecting this sacred land from their mischief.

Question: As you know, the enemy forces are recently targeting ordinary public properties in different parts of our country, for example cutting down thousands of fruit-bearing trees in Ghazni province’s Band-e-Sarda area, and annihilation of many villages during Helmand and Kandahar operations. What do you think is the invaders objective behind it, and what have they earned so far from it?

Zabihullah Mujahid: We believe that we must take every possible step to protect the crops, dwellings, villages and markets of ordinary public, and no one has the right to destroy ordinary public possessions. As for the reasons behind these aggressions, firstly the human rights or other similar regulations are for some reason not applicable to our enemy although they consider themselves human rights preachers or activists. Secondly they want to take revenge from ordinary public, who are fulfilling their religious duties of supporting and standing with the Mujahideen. The foreigners are forcing and deliberately killing the ordinary public in order to stop them from siding with or supporting the Mujahideen, and they have pursued these failed attempts since ten long years and still they do not understand that at no price will Afghans accept the invasion of their country or live under foreign occupation, no matter how many atrocities they commit in Afghanistan. It will only shorten the time of their invasion and more people will join the ranks of Mujahideen as I mentioned earlier was the case during the Soviets invasion. We are very satisfied with the efforts and sacrifice of our brave nation and we consider stepping up in attacks and preparations against our enemy.

Question: In connection to the previous question, if I may ask about the general political and military situation of Afghanistan, we have noticed many differences and disagreements between the political and military leaders of western countries, to an extent that they keep on changing their view in a very short period of time and moreover they give contradictory speeches, what might be the main reason behind all this?

Zabihullah Mujahid: We believe that when the western invader countries were planning to invade Afghanistan, they had very significant objectives and they wanted to attain them through their longer stay in Afghanistan, which previously the west and especially America were competing on with the Soviet Union. Fortunately, they were faced with distressing resistance and for 10 long years they have been trapped in a ruinous war, as a result the coalition countries particularly America are suffering a terrible economic depression. On the other hand, now they have lost what I would call another ‘upsetting depression’, which is, how to pull out from this long-lasting, and ‘patience consuming’ war which was started by America, in such a manner that Her (America) global trust and political authority remains established. Furthermore the western ‘unaware’ public is becoming more sensitive to the continuation of war; therefore it is very obvious that the ordinary public will recognize the ongoing lies of their country’s leadership, and certainly the western politicians – particularly the American politicians – remain wavering. They have many different views which results in contradictory changes on a daily basis. From another side, the lengthening of this particular war is getting more and more disturbing for the western leaders, because they have not been involved in very lengthy warfares. America has only been involved in the Vietnam War, where they had dreadful experiences and even up until today every American has a particular sense of fear and terror about it, hence in such a situation the invasion and overrunning of a war-torn small Afghanistan which seemed very easy and almost costless to them, turned out to be very difficult and enormously expensive. So, of course they will be altering their views and changing their mindset on an everyday basis. We see that today they speak against what they had spoken and done earlier, this all appears to be due to the intensive pressure of ongoing war which arises in non-Muslim and faithless societies.

_____ Thanks a lot Mr. Mujahid for giving us your precious time despite of being very busy.

_____ and thanks to you, may Allah make you successful.

[End.]__________

IntelTrends republishes selected resistance statements so that readers can access different perspectives on current affairs, political and military issues.

Fiighting is taking place for almost a day between the Russian invaders from the occupation gang of “Special Forces” and a mobile unit of the Mujahideen in the Elbrus district of the United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai (KBK).

Information about what is happening is contradictory. Occupation sources refer to the fact that there is no stable communication in the battle zone due to weather conditions.

Meanwhile, according to invaders’ [Russian] reports the fighting is fierce. This indicates that the invaders are using aircraft, which strikes at places of possible positions of the Mujahideen.

It is reported that the invaders are also using heavy mortars and artillery. Large force of invaders and their puppets are sent to the battle area. There is no clear information on the number of Mujahideen.

Previously, the invaders stated that the Mujahideen unit consistied of 7 men. Then it was suggested that several groups of Mujahideen are involving in the fighting.

There are also contradictory reports about the losses of the sides. Invaders initially reported that “a squad of Mujahideen was discovered in the Elbrus district”. In the ensuing clashes five Mujahideen were allegedly killed.

Later it was claimed that 3 Mujahideen were killed, only 3 gang members of “special forces” were allegedly injured from the invaders’ side.

It is to be mentioned thereupon that even some Russian media outlets note that claims of the occupation command about the Mujahideen casualties have not been confirmed and that there is no accurate data on whether there are casualties among the Mujahideen at all.

After some time the invaders said that a fight between a mobile squad of Mujahideen and a detachment of the invaders from the gang of special forces consisted of the so-called contractors-mercenaries took place near the village Bylym, Elbrus region, at about 3:00 pm on Tuesday.

Initially it was reported that it was Mujahideen who attacked a checkpoint and a police station. A few hours later the invaders changed the original version and said that “militant were discovered”.

Occupation command said that an invader was killed and 6 others wounded as a result of fighting.

Meanwhile, ITAR-TASS news agency referring to the occupation command reported that no accurate data available on losses among the Mujahideen. “If there were dead bodies, they have taken them with them”, the agency was told by a representative of the occupation command.

At the same time, RIA Novosti news agency was reported by a spokesman for the occupation gang “NAC (National Anti-terrorist Committee)” that 3 Mujahideen were allegedly killed and their bodies were taken for identification procedures. However, no facts to support this statement had been given.

In turn, Interfax news agency referring to the gang MIA reported that “a group of militants numbering up to 7 people attacked a police station of the Russian Interior Ministry troops in the Elbrus region”. This report indicated that the Mujahideen attacked a checkpoint of Interior Troops of the Russian Federation, 10 km south-east of the village of Bylym.

It is worth to be mentioned that the claims of a “success” in fightings against the Mujahideen appeared at the background of a secret visit to the Caucasus by the Kremlin’s idiotic dwarf leader Medvedev, who announced that behind the latest developments in the region ostensibly hide undefined “foreign forces”.

The information about operations against the Mujahideen was reported in standard Russian propaganda style, with reference to alleged Russian “tourists” who had been presumably shot dead by the same Mujahideen who were now “being tracked down in the mountains”.

Israel has been indulging in a sustained bout of fear-mongering since the Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak was toppled earlier this month. The ostensible aim has been to warn the international community that the lengthy “cold peace” between the two countries is on the verge of collapse.

In reality, the peace treaty signed three decades ago is in no danger for the forseeable future. The Egyptian and Israeli armies have too much of a vested interest in its continuation, whatever political reforms occur in Egypt.

And if the Egyptian political system really does open up, which is still far from sure, the Israeli military may actually be a beneficiary – if for all the wrong reasons.

The main value of the 1979 Camp David treaty to the Israeli leadership has been three decades of calm on Israel’s south-western flank. That, in turn, has freed the army to concentrate on more pressing goals, such as its intermittent forays north to sow sectarian discord in Lebanon, its belligerent posturing towards first Iraq and now Iran in the east, and its campaign to contain and dispossess the Palestinians under its rule.

But since Mubarak’s ousting on February 11, Israeli politicians and generals have warned that democracy for Egypt is bound to empower the country’s Islamists, supposedly bent on Israel’s destruction.

Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, compared a post-Mubarak Egypt with Iran, saying Israel was “preparing for the worst”. Likewise, Gabi Ashkenazi, the departing chief of staff, stated that Israel was braced for the peace treaty’s cancellation as the “moderate camp” weakened.

Officially, Tel Aviv’s concern is that, should the treaty be revoked, Israel will have to redirect much of its martial energy to preparing for potential hostilties with its neighbour, the most populous Arab state. Israel’s anxious declarations about the peace treaty, however, are largely self-serving.

Peace has reigned between Israel and Egypt because it is so strongly in the interests of both militaries. That is not about to change while the Egyptian and Israeli general staffs maintain their pre-eminent roles as the praetorian guards of their countries’ respective political systems.

Today’s close ties between the Israeli and Egyptian armies are a far cry from the earlier era of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who galvanised Arab nationalism in an attempt to defeat Israel, or his successor, Anwar Sadat, who almost led the Arab world to victory against the Israeli army in 1973.

Since the signing of the 1979 agreement, Washington has bought off the hawks on each side with massive military subsidies underwritten by the American taxpayer. The U.S. has been happy to bankroll an accord that strengthens Israel, its useful Middle Eastern ally, and buys the acquiesence of Egypt, the Arab state best placed to resist the current regional order.

The Egyptian army receives $1.3 billion in annual military aid, making it the second largest recipient after Israel, which gets more than twice as much. In addition, military hardware has been lavished on the Israeli army, making it possibly the fourth strongest in the world – an astonishing situation for a country of only seven million.

The munificence has continued despite the U.S. financial crisis, and includes Washington’s effective donation last year to Israel of two dozen of the next-generation F-35 stealth fighter jet as part of its pledge to maintain Israel’s “technological edge” over its rivals in the region.

Three decades of American money thrown at the two armies have made each a key player in their respective economies – as well as encouraging a culture of corruption in the senior ranks.

In Egypt’s case, large sections of the economy are controlled by retired generals, from electrical goods and construction companies to the production of olive oil and medicines. The army is reported to own about a third of the country’s assets.

The Israeli army’s economic stake is less ostentatious but no less significant. Its officers retire in their early forties on full pensions, and then cash in on their “security know-how”. Second careers in arms dealing, military consultancies or sinecures in Israel’s booming homeland security exports are all but guaranteed. Ehud Barak, a former chief of staff and the current defence minister, made millions of dollars from his security consultancy in a few years out of politics, for example.

Corruption, endemic in Israel’s political culture, has rapidly seeped into the military. Some of it is visible, as demonstrated this month with the passing over of a series of candidates for the vacant post of chief of staff because of the skeletons in their closets. Some is not: current investigations into dubious activities by Mr Ashkenazi and his family are subject to heavy reporting restrictions.

Nonetheless, both armies are revered by their countrymen. Even should that change in Egypt over coming months, the army is too strong – thanks to the U.S. – to be effectively challenged by the protesters.

Israeli hawks, however, are right to be concerned – on other grounds – about the “threat” of political reform in Egypt. Although greater democracy will not undermine the peace agreement, it may liberate Egyptians to press for a proper regional peace deal, one that takes account of Palestinian interests as the Camp David accord was supposed to do.

Not least, in a freer Egypt, the army will no longer be in a position to play Robin to Israel’s Batman in Gaza. Its continuing role in the strangulation of the tiny enclave would likely come to an end.

But in such a climate, the Israeli military still has much to gain. As Israeli analyst Aluf Benn has observed, Israel will use the Middle East’s upheavals to highlight to the U.S. that it is Washington’s only reliable ally – the so-called “villa in the jungle”. Its show of anxiety is also designed to remind the U.S. that a jittery Israel is more likely to engage in unpredictable military adventures.

The remedy, of course, is even greater American largesse. And for that reason, if no other, the fear-mongering from Tel Aviv is not about to end.

[End.]__________

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East” (Pluto Press) and “Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair” (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.

A version of this article originally appeared in The National (www.thenational.ae), published in Abu Dhabi.

Teachers. These are the people who put Obama in office. They handed out the pamphlets, went from door to door, stuffed the envelopes, and manned the phone banks. They buttonholed people outside grocery stores, waved posters atop freeway overpasses, and organized neighborhood get-togethers. They spread the word, attended the rallies and drew whatever they could from their meager paychecks to support the man who promised change and inspired hope. They did everything a candidate could ask of his supporters and more. And what have they gotten in return? A bigger war in Afghanistan, a renewal of the Patriot Act, a porno-scanning system at the airports, more blank checks for Wall Street, and a lot of empty posturing about Guantanamo.

And when their pay and pensions and their jobs were on the line, Obama was no where to be found.

Poof! The vanishing president.

Name one thing that Obama has done for working people?

Health care? That fetid trillion dollar giveaway to big pharma?

That just doesn’t cut it.

Obama has called for a spending freeze on government workers pay for the next 5 years while renewing the $700 billion Bush tax cuts at the same time. That’s a feat that even Reagan couldn’t have managed without igniting a revolt in the ranks. But smooth-talking Obama pulled it off without a hitch. In fact, his devotees are more ga-ga over him than ever.

Two weeks ago, Obama wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal promising to reduce “burdensome” regulations for his friends in big finance. He figured that the trillions they’d already been given wasn’t quite enough to keep them happy, so he decided he’d find more rules that he could eliminate.

Then he slithered over to the Chamber of Commerce to assure them that he’d do whatever he could to “change the tone” at the White House to help them increase profitability. Just days later, Obama delivered an entirely different message to striking Wisconsin teachers. He told them that everyone would have to “make sacrifices” to make up for state budget shortfalls. Everyone except his rich friends, that is.

Recently, Obama appointed bank tycoon William Daley as his new chief of staff, and GE’s “outsourcing” Jeffrey Immelt to lead his new jobs creation program. Then he finished off the month by throwing his support behind the latest labor-crushing free trade bill, this time with South Korea. According to the Oakland Business Journal: “The proposed trade deal with South Korea would cost 159,000 U.S. jobs over seven years and hurt some of the highest paying industries in the U.S., including motor vehicles and parts, electronics equipment and metal products, according to the Economic Policy Institute.” Big labor is against the bill. Obama is for it. What a surprise?

Obama’s new budget calls for big cuts to government subsidies for home heating oil for needy families, but allocates $5 million to anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela via the State Department. What makes this so ironic, is that Hugo Chavez has been providing hundreds of thousands of gallons of free heating oil to needy American families across the U.S. So, while the president of Venezuela is trying to make sure that poor people in America don’t freeze to death in the dark, Obama is doing whatever he can to make sure that they do.

Obama has abandoned any effort to reduce unemployment, lower tuition costs, increase welfare, minimize foreclosures, or decrease homelessness. If you are part of the growing number of working-poor in America, don’t except help from the Obama team. You’re outta luck.

This is from the World Socialist Web Site:

“Two and half years since the eruption of the financial crisis, more than 26 million workers cannot find a full-time job. State governments, under both Democrats and Republicans, are responding to budget deficits by closing schools, libraries, clinics and other public facilities, and carrying out attacks on state and municipal employees.

Meanwhile, Wall Street share values have fully recovered since the crash of 2008 and the corporations and their top executives are richer than ever. President Obama has refused to provide a penny of relief to workers losing their jobs, homes and life savings. Instead he has outlined plans to slash a trillion dollars from vitally needed social services, to pay for the bailout of Wall Street, the extension of the Bush era tax cuts for the rich and the Pentagon war machine. And this is only the beginning…

(In Wisconsin) workers are fighting for their very livelihoods. They cannot live with what amounts to a 20 percent pay cut and devastating cuts in public education and state universities for their children.” (“The struggle of Wisconsin workers enters a new stage“, World Socialist Web Site)

The strike has entered its second week and still no sign of Obama. Thousands of workers and students from across the state have braved the freezing temperatures and joined in the demonstrations while closing down much of the school system.

The entire country is watching. Many people are wondering how the GOP crackdown will affect their own jobs. They’re worried about their future and the future of the country.

Obama could simply fly into Madison, deliver a few words of support for the strikers, and assure himself of a landslide victory in 2012. But he won’t do that, because he’s not the man that people thought he was. He won’t lift a finger to help his friends even when they’re embroiled in the biggest fight of their lives. He won’t support the people who supported him.

Obama’s message to the teachers, “Drop dead!”

[End.]__________

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com.